This morning, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 8580, the Appropriations measure for Military Construction, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and related agencies for Fiscal Year 2025. 

Delegate James Moylan had several amendments that he sponsored or co-sponsored which were adopted in the legislation, including, among others:

  • $677.6 million in military construction projects in Guam.
  • $306.683 million for the Veterans Crisis Line.
  • $245 million for new military housing construction, to reduce DoD's demand for housing from the local inventory supply. Reducing the military's demand would help reduce the costs of housing rentals for local families.
  • Provide funding to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to ensure the recommendations in a recent General Accountability Office (GAO) report, which indicate inadequate care for veterans residing in territories and the Freely Associated States (FAS), are met. The funding would assist with addressing administrative and data deficiencies.
  • Provide additional funding to the Board of Veterans Appeals to assist in reducing the backlog of veterans' claims and allow timely adjudication.
  • Increases the funding for the Veterans Health Administration's (VHA) Office of Mental Health, to further assist veterans with disabilities and mental health or substance abuse challenges.
  • Increased funding for the VA's suicide prevention programs.
  • Increased funding for the VA's grant program for veteran cemeteries.
  • Increased funding for Medical and Prosthetic Research.
  • Increased funding for State Extended Care Facilities Grants.
  • Increased funding for VA's Post Traumatic Stress Disorder program.
  • Increased funding for VA's Medical Community Care program, which would increase accessibility for in-home healthcare services.
  • Increased funding for the HUD Supportive Housing to streamline voucher applications for qualified veterans.
  • Increased funding for low-income veterans for the Shallow Subsidy housing program, so keep veterans in their homes.
  • Increased funding for VA's Peer to Peer program, which addresses Mental Health issues.
  • Requires that the VA apply the same access standards for Mental Health Residential
  • Rehabilitation Treatment Program (MH RRTP) as for primary, specialty, and non-institutional extended care services.

“We are happy to see that several of the amendments we led or co-sponsored were made in order and voted on to advance in the legislation. There is much focus on increasing funding opportunities to address mental health, suicide, and traumatic stress programs for our veterans,” said Moylan. 

“Some of these funds will be available to supplement the local CBOC, while others will be the form of grants which local non-profit organizations can apply and avail. Our efforts with measures to improve the lives, services, and care of our veterans are far from over. This includes our continued efforts to reduce the timelines for our veterans to receive their disability ratings, while also addressing the inadequate care outlined in a recent GAO report. Our work has only begun,” he added.

Congress will be acting on 11 additional appropriation measures, along with the National Defense Authorization Act, over the next six weeks.

The NDAA, where Moylan's amendments to authorize $140 million for road repairs, and over $167 million for the glass breakwater is scheduled for a vote next week.

“Our amendment to ensure over $600 million in new military construction projects will create jobs for our community, small business opportunities for local entities, and supplement our tax base. This is part of the nearly $2 billion in projects authorized in the NDAA,” he added.